2021 San José State
5–7 (3–5 Mountain West Conference), coached by Brent Brennan. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Southern Utah 45–14Aug 28
By 31 points, its widest win.
- Most excitingLost to Nevada 24–27Nov 6
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 28 | vs Southern Utah | W 45–14 | 89% |
| Sep 4 | at 15USC | L 7–30 | 37% |
| Sep 19 | at Hawai’i | W 17–13 | 51% |
| Sep 25 | at Western Michigan | L 3–23 | 47% |
| Oct 2 | vs New Mexico State | W 37–31 | 82% |
| Oct 9 | at Colorado State | L 14–32 | 56% |
| Oct 15 | vs 24San Diego State | L 13–19 | 42% |
| Oct 21 | at UNLV | W 27–20 | 66% |
| Oct 30 | vs Wyoming | W 27–21 | 60% |
| Nov 6 | at Nevada | L 24–27 | 30% |
| Nov 13 | vs Utah State | L 17–48 | 54% |
| Nov 25 | vs Fresno State | L 9–40 | 42% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to Fresno State 40–9; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 7th in the Mountain West Conference.
In program history: The 36th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 91 on file).
- Record
- 5–7
- Conference
- 3–5 tied for 7th in Mountain West Conference
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 240–318
- Coach
- Brent Brennan
- Elo
- 1429 −117 this season
- SP+ rating
- -1.9 No. 85 of 130; offense No. 102, defense No. 54
- SRS
- −10.2 No. 109 of 130 in FBS
- Returning
- 74% of last season’s EPA, No. 64 of 128
- Recruiting class
- No. 120 roster talent No. 103 in FBS
- Offensive coordinator
- Kevin McGiven
- Defensive coordinator
- Derrick Odum
- Offense
- Spread option
- Defense
- 3–4
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.03 | 39% | 1.21 | 114th of 130 |
| Defense | 0.10 | 42% | 1.11 | 44th of 130 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.06 off 0.11 def | 39% off 43% def | — | 111th off 49th def |
How these are measured
Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.
Drives and havoc
| Points per trip inside the 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 3.0 | own 28 | 19% allowed |
| Defense | 3.5 | own 29 | 18% caused |
CORE rating -2.5, 77th of 130 (offense -9.5, defense -6.9).
A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.
Leaders
| Passing yards | Nick Starkel QB | 1,645 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Nick Starkel QB | 9 TD |
| Rushing yards | Tyler Nevens RB | 756 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Tyler Nevens RB | 7 TD |
| Receiving yards | Derrick Deese Jr. TE | 730 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Derrick Deese Jr. TE | 4 TD |
| Tackles | Kyle Harmon LB | 134 tkl |
| Sacks | Junior Fehoko DL | 7 sacks |
| Interceptions | Nehemiah Shelton CB | 2 INT |
Top recruits in the 2021 class
| Walker Eget QB | ★★★ | No. 1426 |
| Bryun Parham LB | ★★★ | No. 1608 |
| Nate Lewis ATH | ★★★ | No. 1704 |
| Kavon Baptiste CB | ★★★ | No. 1767 |
| Branden Alvarez WR | ★★★ | No. 1821 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2021 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 1 | 3.0 | 0.842 |
| Receivers | 2 | 3.0 | 0.822 |
| Offensive line | 2 | 2.5 | 0.805 |
| Defensive line | 1 | 3.0 | 0.817 |
| Linebackers | 1 | 3.0 | 0.835 |
| Defensive backs | 1 | 3.0 | 0.829 |
| Athletes and specialists | 2 | 3.0 | 0.826 |
| Whole class | 10 | 2.9 | 0.823 |
High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.
Roster 110
The 2021 roster110 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 70 have a stat line. See the roster
Transfers in 9
The 2021 portal Trevon Sidney WR | ★★★★ | from  Illinois |
| Charles Ross WR | ★★★ | from  Nevada |
| Kenyon Sims RB | ★★★ | from Illinois |
 Matthew Tago OLB | ★★★ | from  Oregon State |
 Skylar Loving-Black TE | ★★★ | from  Iowa State |
| Charlie Rogers TE | ★★ | from  San Diego State |
 Ryan Nixon S | ★★ | from  Tulsa |
 Jalen Hamler QB | from  Cal Poly | |
 Will Hart P | from  Michigan |
Transfers out 7
 Alec Trujillo QB | ★★★ | to Iowa Central C.C. |
| Beaux Tagaloa DL | ★★★ | to  California |
| Keydrell Lewis OT | ★★★ | to  UL Monroe |
| Tre Webb CB | ★★★ | to  Montana State |
| Austin Liles WR | ★★ | to  San Diego |
| Lorenzo Burkes RB | ★★ | no new school on file |
| Jake Simmons QB | to Santa Rosa J.C. |
2021 Mountain West Conference standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego State | 7–1 | 12–2 | 25 |
| Utah State | 6–2 | 11–3 | 24 |
| Fresno State | 6–2 | 10–3 | |
 Air Force | 6–2 | 10–3 | |
| Nevada | 5–3 | 8–5 | |
 Boise State | 5–3 | 7–5 | |
| Hawai’i | 3–5 | 6–7 | |
| San José State | 3–5 | 5–7 | |
| Wyoming | 2–6 | 7–6 | |
| Colorado State | 2–6 | 3–9 | |
| UNLV | 2–6 | 2–10 | |
 New Mexico | 1–7 | 3–9 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.